The Handbook for Latchkey Children and Their Parents: A Complete Guide for Latchkey Kids and Their Working Parents.

Long, Lynette; Long, Thomas

Focusing on children between 6 and 13 years of age, this book describes both the negative and the positive aspects of the experiences of latchkey children and projected consequences. (The term "latchkey children" denotes children who are regularly left without adult supervision during some period of the day.) Chapter 1 indicates the scope of the problem of children left alone or in the care of siblings. Chapter 2 focuses on children's experience of being left alone and describes some of the developmental consequences of isolation. Problematic aspects of sibling care are pointed out in chapter 3. Chapter 4 describes latchkey children's experience of fear and discusses several dangers faced by unsupervised children, while chapter 5 examines stress and presents four categories of stress variables affecting latchkey children. Chapter 6 delineates the perspective of parents leaving children in self-care arrangements. Chapter 7 describes the experiences of children left to care for themselves in the morning. Chapter 8 addresses difficulties parents and latchkey children may have in developing a relationship with one another and suggests ways of improving parent/child relationships. Chapter 9 illustrates the long-term negative impact of self-supervision on some children. In contrast, potentially positive aspects of self-care are probed and effective latchkey arrangements are described in chapter 10. Many examples of community programs aiding parents in need of child care services are described in chapter 11. Chapter 12 provides checklists for assessing whether children are ready for self-care and offers guidelines for parents leaving children in self-care. Briefly, chapter 13 indicates social trends likely to enable parents to more easily provide out-of-school care for their children. In conclusion, numerous resource organizations are listed. (RH)